Louisiana passes first antievolution academic freedom law
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080627-louisiana-passes-first-antievolution-academic-freedom-law.html Louisiana passes first antievolution academic freedom law By John Timmer | Published: June 27, 2008 - 02:13PM CT As we noted last month, a number of states have been considering laws that, under the guise of academic freedom, single out evolution for special criticism. Most of them haven't made it out of the state legislatures, and one that did was promptly vetoed. But the last of these bills under consideration, the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA), was enacted by the signature of Governor Bobby Jindal yesterday. The bill would allow local school boards to approve supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of scientific theories, allowing poorly-informed board members to stick their communities with Dover-sized legal fees. The text of the LSEA suggests that it's intended to foster critical thinking, calling on the state Board of Education to assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories. Unfortunately, it's remarkably selective in its suggestion of topics that need critical thinking, as it cites scientific subjects including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning. Oddly, the last item on the list is not the subject of any scientific theory; the remainder are notable for being topics that are the focus of frequent political controversies rather than scientific ones. -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ Debunking bullshit is a thankless task. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Louisiana passes first antievolution academic freedom law
What's really scary about this is that rejecting evolution requires rejecting the entire framework of modern science, as well as a body of evidence that is overwhelming in scope. It requires a kind of intellectual dishonesty -- or at the very least willful ignorance -- that almost has to be called pathological. If they want to teach religion in school lets have religion courses that teach all the world's religions in depth. But of course, that's not what this is about. Its about indoctrination. Olin - Original Message - From: William T Goodallmailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Brin-Lmailto:brin-l@mccmedia.com Sent: Saturday, June 28, 2008 10:17 AM Subject: Louisiana passes first antievolution academic freedom law http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080627-louisiana-passes-first-antievolution-academic-freedom-law.htmlhttp://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080627-louisiana-passes-first-antievolution-academic-freedom-law.html Louisiana passes first antievolution academic freedom law By John Timmer | Published: June 27, 2008 - 02:13PM CT As we noted last month, a number of states have been considering laws that, under the guise of academic freedom, single out evolution for special criticism. Most of them haven't made it out of the state legislatures, and one that did was promptly vetoed. But the last of these bills under consideration, the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA), was enacted by the signature of Governor Bobby Jindal yesterday. The bill would allow local school boards to approve supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of scientific theories, allowing poorly-informed board members to stick their communities with Dover-sized legal fees. The text of the LSEA suggests that it's intended to foster critical thinking, calling on the state Board of Education to assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories. Unfortunately, it's remarkably selective in its suggestion of topics that need critical thinking, as it cites scientific subjects including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning. Oddly, the last item on the list is not the subject of any scientific theory; the remainder are notable for being topics that are the focus of frequent political controversies rather than scientific ones. -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED]mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.ukhttp://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk/ Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ Debunking bullshit is a thankless task. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-lhttp://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
More evil religion
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/world/middleeast/29marriage.html?_r=1partner=rssuserlandemc=rssoref=slogin Tiny Voices Defy Fate of Yemen’s Girls By ROBERT F. WORTH JIBLA, Yemen — One morning last month, Arwa Abdu Muhammad Ali walked out of her husband’s house here and ran to a local hospital, where she complained that he had been beating and sexually abusing her for eight months. That alone would be surprising in Yemen, a deeply conservative Arab society where family disputes tend to be solved privately. What made it even more unusual was that Arwa was 9 years old. Within days, Arwa — a tiny, delicate-featured girl — had become a celebrity in Yemen, where child marriage is common but has rarely been exposed in public. She was the second child bride to come forward in less than a month; in April, a 10-year-old named Nujood Ali had gone by herself to a courthouse to demand a divorce, generating a landmark legal case. Together, the two girls’ stories have helped spur a movement to put an end to child marriage, which is increasingly seen as a crucial part of the cycle of poverty in Yemen and other third world countries. Pulled out of school and forced to have children before their bodies are ready, many rural Yemeni women end up illiterate and with serious health problems. Their babies are often stunted, too. The average age of marriage in Yemen’s rural areas is 12 to 13, a recent study by Sana University researchers found. The country, at the southern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world. “This is the first shout,” said Shada Nasser, a human rights lawyer who met Nujood, the 10-year-old, after she arrived at the courthouse to demand a divorce. Ms. Nasser decided instantly to take her case. “All other early marriage cases have been dealt with by tribal sheiks, and the girl never had any choice.” But despite a rising tide of outrage, the fight against the practice is not easy. Hard-line Islamic conservatives, whose influence has grown enormously in the past two decades, defend it, pointing to the Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to a 9-year-old. Child marriage is deeply rooted in local custom here, and even enshrined in an old tribal expression: “Give me a girl of 8, and I can give you a guarantee” for a good marriage. -- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/ Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Louisiana passes first antievolution academic freedom law
On 29/06/2008, at 3:17 AM, William T Goodall wrote: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080627-louisiana-passes-first-antievolution-academic-freedom-law.html Louisiana passes first antievolution academic freedom law By John Timmer | Published: June 27, 2008 - 02:13PM CT Here we go again. Hopefully this time, unlike in Dover, it'll get to the Supreme Court, and what they're *actually* proposing gets aired nationally and world wide. There are creationists groups active in the UK - Truth In Science; Australia (Ken Ham's from here originally, and the ICR is active here, with a major creationist camp happening on Philip Island early next year); and New Zealand. I highly recommend that anyone who hasn't reads the decision in Tammy Kitzmiller et al vs Dover Area School District in its entirety. For several years, the creationists were saying give us our day in court and the Discovery Institute was looking for a test case to get their Wedge Strategy in place, and they got that chance in Dover. Straight after Dover they switched to the teach the controversy thing (as if their entire strategy since the 80s wasn't based on pointing out flaws in evolution or geochronology...). And they've managed to finally dilute their message enough to get it through now. However, now it's a lot easier for a teacher to slam creationism in class as much as it's easier for them to teach it. Be careful what you wish for... Charlie. ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
Re: Louisiana passes first antievolution academic freedom law
Olin Elliott wrote: What's really scary about this is that rejecting evolution requires rejecting the entire framework of modern science, I must disagree. It requires the freedom of religious belief. When you believe in a God that is good and respectful, you automatically must believe that the Universe is ruled by stable laws. However, believing in an Evil and Mischievous god enables one to think that the whole purpose of natural laws are to deceive people who want to use the brain to think, instead of using it to obey. Check Trickster in the Wikipedia, and Theory of Evolution in Conservapedia, to see what I mean. The god of the creationists is Satan. Alberto Monteiro ___ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
